As a birthday present to a dear friend who is a HUGE Arizona Diamonbacks fan, I am going to offer a full scouting report on Justin Upton. Please note that this is going to be written like a scouting report, not a journalistic piece.


Justin Upton #10 OF Arizona Diamonbacks.
Height: 6-3 Weight: 205
B/T: R/R
Born: Aug 25, 1987 - Norfolk, VA
Draft: 2005 - 1st round (1st overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks

There are few prospects in the history of the game who truly are awe inspiring. In recent memory, we are presented with Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Andruw Jones. All of them were true 5-tool prospects, which means they can hit for average, hit for power, run, field and throw. The most impressive of the four listed though is Justin Upton.

When doing a two pronged scouting report on Justin Upton, both with eyes and with numbers we are presented with an awful lot of facts.

Strengths:


Upton possesses an extremely even swing from his hands that is easily repeatable. Most of all, at 19 he shows a presence at the plate comparable to most 5 year veterans. His swing is fluid and generates a lot of power in his hips. What is most impressive though, is his footwork at the plate. Upton's footwork is eerily reminiscent of Barry Bonds' footwork in that he can hit a bail pitch a mile. What most impresses me though is Upton's power. For a 19 year old, he hits the ball HARD. His power is generated from his hands which makes the possibility of his swing opening up later in his career, Andruw Jones, remote.

In the field, Upton compares to Ken Griffey Jr. at a similar age. Upton doesn't quite have the speed that Griffey does, but he makes up for it with great route running. Upton is still learning the outfield as he was a shortstop throughout his amateur career. There are no arms in the minors comparable to Upton who currently ranks fourth in arm strength, by my count, behind only Jeff Francoueur, Vladimir Guerrero and Shane Victorino. His arm should only get stronger as his muscles grow. Perhaps Upton's most impressive fielding performance came in the Futures Game where he threw out a runner from the warning track.


Weaknesses:

Upton has very few weaknesses, if any. His ability to recognize the outside slider is a little bit troubling, but with proper coaching and experience facing big league pitcher, it should improve.

For a fast guy, he is not a great basestealer, similar to the problem fellow 2005 draftee Jay Bruce experiences. This should again improve with

Overall:

There is no doubt that Justin Upton has the talent, tools and makeup to be an absolute stud in the majors. One source was quoted as saying "Justin Upton is the most untouchable player in baseball. If you offered them Mickey Mantle for Justin Upton, they'd turn it down."

On the record, I will fully predict that Justin Upton will break Barry Bonds' or Alex Rodriguez's home run record.

MLB Comparison: Ken Griffey Jr.